


The Calendars of Middle-earth

by Celandine



Category: The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Calendar, Gen, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-01
Updated: 2002-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-04 14:14:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4140828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celandine/pseuds/Celandine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The calendars used in Tolkien's work, primarily dealing with the Third Age.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Calendars of Middle-earth

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally compiled for use at the Henneth Annûn Story Archive (HASA).

**About the calendars:**  
Before the Two Trees, there was no reckoning of time. When Telperion began to bloom, the First Day began; but the first hour of its bloom was not counted into the tale of hours, but was called the Opening Hour by the Valar. Thus the Count of Time began. Each day contained twelve hours, in which first Telperion and then Laurelin came to full bloom and then waned again to naught. ( _The Silmarillion_ , pp. 38-9.)

A Year of the Trees (or Year of the Valar) was the same length as ten Years of the Sun; a Valian Age was 100 Valian Years, or 1000 of our years. ( _HoMe_ vol. 4, p. 312)

After the destruction of the Trees by Morgoth and Ungoliant, and the creation of the Sun and Moon, time was reckoned differently. We do not know with certainty what calendars were used in the First Age by the Eldar, although they were probably the same or similar to the Calendar of Imladris.

**Years and Months:**

According to the Calendar of Imladris, as maintained through the Third Age, the Eldar counted time in _yén_ , often inaccurately translated as "year" but meaning 144 years of the sun. A single day ( _ré_ ) was reckoned from sunset to sunset; each _yén_ contained 52,596 days. They used a week ( _enquië_ ) of six days for ritual purposes, and these were 8,766 _enquier_ in each _yén_. The solar year was called a _loa_ ("growth") or _coranar_ ("sun-round"). This was subdivided into seasons for practical purposes. The Calendar of Imladris had six of these seasons. 

**Seasons among the Eldar:**

  
**Quenya name:** | **Sindarin name:** | **Translation:** | **Length:**  
---|---|---|---  
_tuilë_ | _ethuil_ |  spring | 54 days  
_lairë_ | _laer_ |  summer | 72 days  
_yávië_ | _iavas_ |  autumn | 54 days  
_quellë_ (or _lasselanta_ ) |  _firith_ (or _narbeleth_ ) | fading | 54 days  
_hrívë_ | _rhîw_ |  winter | 72 days  
_coirë_ | _echuir_ |  stirring | 54 days  
  
  


Additional days fell outside of any season. Before _tuilë_ came _yestarë_ , the first day of the year. Between _yávië_ and _quellë_ came three _enderi_ , or "middle-days." Following _coirë_ came _mettarë_ , the last day of the year. This provided a year of 365 days. Every twelfth year the _enderi_ were doubled; at the end of every third _yén_ the doubling of the _enderi_ was omitted. The Calendar of Númenor in the Second Age differed. Instead of beginning the year with spring, they reckoned from mid-winter. Eventually they added a seventh day to the week, and reckoned days from sunrise to sunrise. They also divided the _loa_ into more regular and shorter periods. This King's Reckoning was used down until the end of the line of kings in Gondor. It may be set out as follows: 

**Months in the King's Reckoning:**

  
**Quenya name:** | **Sindarin name*:** | **Length:** | **Modern equivalent:**  
---|---|---|---  
_Narvinyë_ | _Narwain_ |  30 days | January  
_Nénimë_ | _Nínui_ |  30 days | February  
_Súlimë_ | _Gwaeron_ |  30 days | March  
_Víressë_ | _Gwirith_ |  30 days | April  
_Lótessë_ | _Lothron_ |  30 days | May  
_Nárië_ | _Nórui_ |  31 days | June  
_Cermië_ | _Cerveth_ |  31 days | July  
_Urimë_ | _Urui_ |  30 days | August  
_Yavannië_ | _Ivanneth_ |  30 days | September  
_Narquelië_ | _Narbeleth_ |  30 days | October  
_Hísimë_ | _Hithui_ |  30 days | November  
_Ringarë_ | _Girithron_ |  30 days | December  
  
  
* **Used only by the Dúnedain in the North.**  


Additional days outside the months were _yestarë_ (before _Narvinyë_ ), _loëndë_ (between _Nárië_ and _Cermië_ ), and _mettarë_ (after _Ringarë_ ). Every fourth year, except for the last year of a century, _loëndë_ was replaced by two _enderi_. The Second Age was held to have ended with the overthrow of Sauron; thus S.A. 3442 became T.A. 1. Accumulated millennial deficits and dislocations caused by the new numeration of the years of the Third Age caused Mardil the Good Steward to issue a new calendar in T.A. 2060. According to this calendar, all months had 30 days, and two more days outside the months were introduced: _tuilérë_ (between _Súlimë_ and _Víressë_ ), and _yáviérë_ (between _Yavannië_ and _Narquelië_ ). Days outside of the months were always considered to be holidays. The Shire Calendar began in 1601 of the Third Age, by the King's Reckoning, and thus the T.A. equivalent of any date given in Shire Reckoning may be found by simply adding 1600. For their months and years, the Hobbits followed the King's Reckoning, with a slight modification. Instead of the two middle months having 31 days, the Hobbits counted 30 days in each, and had a three-day holiday between them. They also used unique names for both months and weekdays. 

****Months in the Shire:** **

  
**Name in Gondor:** | **Shire name:** | **Bree name:** | **Modern equivalent:**  
---|---|---|---  
_Narvinyë_ |  Afteryule | Frery | January  
_Nénimë_ |  Solmath | Solmath | February  
_Súlimë_ |  Rethe | Rethe | March  
_Víressë_ |  Astron | Chithing | April  
_Lótessë_ |  Thrimidge | Thrimidge | May  
_Nárië_ |  Forelithe | Lithe | June  
_Cermië_ |  Afterlithe | The Summerdays | July  
_Urimë_ |  Wedmath | Mede | August  
_Yavannië_ |  Halimath | Wedmath | September  
_Narquelië_ |  Winterfilth | Harvestmath | October  
_Hísimë_ |  Blotmath | Wintring | November  
_Ringarë_ |  Foreyule | Yulemath | December  
  
  


Five days were normally reckoned outside of the months: two days of Yule (1 Yule came after the end of Foreyule, and 2 Yule came before Afteryule); and three days between Forelithe and Afterlithe, called 1 Lithe, Mid-year's Day, and 2 Lithe. Every four years an additional holiday, the Overlithe, was included after Mid-year's Day. A table setting out the Shire Calendar for all years may be found in Appendix D of _The Return of the King_ , p. 384. 

**Days of the Week:**

As noted above, the Eldar used a six-day week. 

**Days of the Week among the Eldar:**

  
**Quenya name:** | **Sindarin name:** | **Subject of the day's dedication:**  
---|---|---  
_Elenya_ | _Orgilion_ |  the Stars  
_Anarya_ | _Oranor_ |  the Sun  
_Isilya_ | _Orithil_ |  the Moon  
_Aldúya_ | _Orgaladhad_ |  the Two Trees  
_Menelya_ | _Ormenel_ |  the Heavens  
_Valanya_ (or _Tárion_ ) |  _Orbelain_ (or _Rodyn_ ) | the Valar (or the Powers)  
  
  


The Men of Númenor added a seventh day: _Eärenya_ ( _Oraearon_ ), "Sea-day," between _Menelya_ and _Valanya_. They also altered the name of _Aldúya_ to _Aldëa_ ( _Orgaladh_ ), to refer only to the White Tree. Hobbits used Westron translations of these names. 

**Days of the Week among Men and Hobbits:**

  
**Name in Gondor:** | **Archaic Hobbit name:** | **"Modern" Hobbit name:** | **Modern equivalent:**  
---|---|---|---  
_Elenya_ |  Sterrendei | Sterday | Monday  
_Anarya_ |  Sunnendei | Sunday | Tuesday  
_Isilya_ |  Monendei | Monday | Wednesday  
_Aldúya_ |  Trewesdei | Trewsday | Thursday  
_Menelya_ |  Hevenesdei | Hevensday (or Hensday) | Friday  
_Eärenya_ |  Meresdei | Mersday | Saturday  
_Valanya_ (or _Tárion_ ) | Highdei | Highday | Sunday  
  
  


In all regions the last day of the week was the chief day, of holiday after noon and evening feasts, thus corresponding more nearly with modern Sunday. In the Shire, and later also in Bree, an innovation concerning the days of the week was implemented in the time of Isengrim II, in 1083 S.R. From that time on Mid-year's Day (and the Overlithe) were given no weekday name; this meant that every year began on the First Day of the week (Sterday) and ended on the last day (Highday). Unfortunately, nothing is known that would enable us to determine the correspondence between particular dates and days of the week according to the King's or Steward's Reckoning. 

* * *

  
The information in this essay is largely from Appendix D in _The Return of the King_ , pp. 384-390. Page numbers may vary by edition.

**Sources:**

  
Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. _The Return of the King: being the third part of The Lord of the Rings_. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. _The Shaping of Middle-Earth: The Quenta, The Ambarkanta, and The Annals_. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Vol. 4, _The History of Middle-Earth_. New York: Del Rey, 1995.

Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. _The Silmarillion_. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.  



End file.
